NORTHAMPTON - Building Commissioner Louis Hasbrouck will go before the City Council tonight to ask for $81,650 to demolish the building at the former Honda dealership at 171 King St.

Hasbrouck has been corresponding with owner Don Lia since the Fire Department put out a blaze at the building on March 27. According to Hasbrouck, the fire was contained to the second floor. His letter to Lia suggested that people had been using the building for shelter.

The site, which spans 5.6 acres, is arguably the most valuable developable lot on King Street, but it has lain dormant since the Honda dealership closed in 2005. Last year the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fined Lia $15,000 for failing to address the effects of contaminated soil at the site on utility workers and others.

Don Lia has no business connection to Lia Honda at 293 King St., according to the owners of that dealership. He does, however, operate Toyota dealerships in New Rochelle, N.Y., and on Long Island.

Hasbrouck said city officials have been talking to Lia for a long time about the condition of the building. He notified the owner on June 4 that he was condemning it and gave Lia until June 10 to demolish it. Because Lia has failed to do so, Hasbrouch said, the city will take the demolition into its own hands at a cost greater than what Lia could have paid, since the city pays workers the prevailing wage.

MassLive will report tonight on the success for Hasbrouck's request as well as the second and final vote on the fiscal 2015 budget, which the council is also taking up.